Perfect Foils
by Gemstoneopal
Summary: Sue & Jean / Madison & Mason I was doing a rewatch of Glee and it occurred to me that Sue and Jean's and Madison and Mason's experiences growing up were more similar than you might expect, so I decided to play around with that idea. This is the result.
1. Age 6

Your sister is retarded! You know what that means?" Sue clenched her fist and her jaw and spun around to face the group behind her angrily. "It means she can't think right. She's stupid. And I'll bet you are just like her. I'll bet you can't even understand what we're saying right now." Sue tried to remain under control. After all, if she got in trouble again they would call her mother in and then she would have to sit in her room in time out. And she'd get the lecture about how her behavior was inappropriate (whatever that meant) and that if she continued to act like this she would be separated from her sister because she was a bad influence. And that was the one thing Sue could not handle. But when their taunting didn't stop, she growled and threw herself at them, hitting and scratching whatever she could reach. By the time the teacher hurried over and pulled her off of them, there were several bloody noses and deep scratches on her tormenters. She was satisfied with the damage she had done and _don't cry Sue, don't cry they deserved it! Toughen up!_

"Nanny Sarah, why do you take care of us instead of our parents?" Madison looked up at her nanny, her and Mason's favorite so far, earnestly. Sarah bit her lip, how did she tell this little kid that her parents thought she and her brother were too much work and wanted to continue to live carefree lives? "Because your mommy and daddy are very busy performing, just like you do when you do ballet or cheer or you sing." "Why can't they perform at home like we do then?" "Well they need to work, just like your friends' parents do. Their work is just much further away and takes a lot more time. They love you and they miss you when they are away from home." Madison nodded thoughtfully before wandering off. She appreciated Nanny Sarah trying, but she had already figured out the truth: Her parents didn't love her or Mason, not the way her friends parents loved them. It was okay though. She had her twin and her Nanny and they didn't need anyone else.


	2. Age 12

Sue just stared vacantly at the fridge. It was basically empty. She really hoped her parents came home soon so they could restock. Right now all they had was bread and peanut butter and something wilted and rotting that might have been lettuce at some point. She looked worriedly at her sister, who was contentedly watching Mary Poppins on the TV. Sue was resolved that she would never, ever know how hard it was just to keep the two of them fed. She was afraid that if their parents didn't come back soon she would have to go to the neighbor for help and she didn't want to do that. What if they figured out all this was her fault?

Madison looked despairingly at her brother's pants. They had gotten too short ( _again? How was that possible?_ ) and she would have to find a way to make them longer until their parents came home and could take them shopping or their grandparents visited. The problem wasn't that there wasn't money, the problem was that she couldn't get them to the mall and go shopping. She supposed she could ask the neighbors to bring them or one of her friends from school ( _that's cute Madison, pretending you have friends and that people like you_ ), but then they would know that she couldn't do the one thing she was supposed to do: take care of her brother.


	3. Age 18

Sue scanned the crowd desperately as she stood with the other graduates. She spotted her sister easily; Jean was cheering loudly and waving her arms around excitedly. Her lips curved into a smile at that, almost without her permission. But the smile disappeared almost as quickly when she realized that her parents were nowhere to be found. She had given them the tickets the last time they were home and they had promised to come but they weren't here. Her shoulders deflated, but she determinedly refused to cry. Really, they weren't worth it.

Madison gripped Mason's hand. This was it, the moment they had been waiting for since they were 3. They were the co-captains of the Cheerios at Nationals their senior year and she was sure they were going to win. She noticed Mason's eyes keep drifting to the crowd hopefully. "They aren't coming, Mason. Focus!" His head whipped back around to her and she continued. "We don't need them anyway. We have each other!" "Yeah, but I wish they were here. It would make this moment so much sweeter, you know?" The microphone at the podium caught their attention and they turned to face it.

"The winners of this year's Cheerleading National championship are… The Cheerios from Lima, Ohio!"


End file.
